(Yicai Global) March 19 --  China's central environmental authority has given the green light for  the construction of two nuclear power projects with four reactors, which  is the first such go-ahead since 2016. 

The pair, China General  Nuclear Power Group's Huizhou Taiping Ling in southern Guangdong  province and China National Nuclear's Zhangzhou plant in southeastern  Fujian, will start construction on June 30, the Ministry of Ecology and  Environment said in a statement on its website. The total investment  will be CNY81.2 billion (USD12.1 billion), public information shows. 

The Chinese government  imposed a multi-year freeze on new nuclear power projects since the  accident at the tsunami-struck nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan in  2011. 

In 2015, China began  building two plants involving domestically designed Hualong One reactor  technology in Fujian province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,  with the first unit expected to enter operation in 2020. 

Editor: Emmi Laine